'Psychological advantage' for Pak

Pakistan team coach Intikhab Alam is confident that the sessions held by a sports psychologist with the team players will help them be mentally prepared to handle the pressure in the ICC Twenty20 World Cup in England.

Sports psychologist Maqbool Bari held one to one sessions with the selected players on the sidelines of practice matches in Lahore last week besides conducting group therapy.

He was also supposed to have sessions with players during the conditioning camp in Bhurban earlier this month but the idea was dropped by the board because of the heavy fees demanded by Bari.

"But his sessions with the players in Lahore were very useful and good and the basic purpose is to get these players mentally focused on the World Cup and be ready to handle the pressures of such a big event," Intikhab said.

In the past also Pakistan have experimented with a sports psychologist but it didn't bear comprehensive results.

But Intikhab said part of the preparations for a major event was to psyche the players into believing they could win the title.

"The idea is to improve their focus and increase their self belief. Because in a big tournament like the World Cup it is all about pressure and nothing else. The team that handles the pressure the best will win the title," he added.

Intikhab pointed out that there was nothing much to separate between teams like Pakistan, India, Australia or South Africa in the T20 World Cup. "I don't think so, it is all about how you handle the pressure and I think the sessions held by the sports psychologist will help the players a lot," the former Test captain stated.

Pakistan have also designated former Test batsman Basit Ali to work with the batsmen in Lahore for the World Cup.

Captain Younis Khan noted that Basit's sessions had helped identify minor technical glitches in the batsmen and also made them more aware of their weaknesses and how to overcome them.

"The batting would be crucial in the World Cup. Our bowling is strong but it is our batting that has to fire in these matches. We have to aim for a total of around 170 ad 180 in the World Cup if we want to consistently win matches and go to the final," Intikhab said.